Sunday Seminar: Edward Krasiński in context

As the exhibition Edward Krasiński nears its close, the Stedelijk Museum has organized a lecture  program that outlines the oeuvre of the artist, who was a leading figure in the Polish avantgarde of the 60s and 70s. With guest speakers David Crowley, Joanna Mytkowska and Liene Harms, the afternoon describes a context of artist networks and contemporary art in former Eastern Europe.

The lectures will focus on the relation between art and the political circumstances in the 60s and 70s of Eastern Europe, the relationship between galeries and artist studios and opportunities for artists to exhibit their work, as wel as important events that have influenced the practice of artists. One such event, called Farewell to Spring, took place in June 1968 in Zalesie, a Warsaw suburb. The participants of the Zalesie Bal,  as the event was nicknamed, were mainly artists and critics who were involved in the recently established Foksal Gallery. Edward Krasiński handled the decoration of the dance event. According to sources, the  gathering functioned as a protest against the politicalization of the intellectual and artistic life under pressure of the communist regime.

The guest speakers will discuss a selection of events and collaborations of that time, the developments leading to the image of Krasinski and the Polish avant-garde that we have today.

MORE ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

David Crowley is a professor and the Head of School of Visual Culture  at The National College of Art and Design in Dublin (NCAD). He is an expert in the art and design histories of Eastern Europe under communist rule. He writes regularly and curates exhibitions, including Cold War Modern at the Victoria and Albert Museum (2008–9) and Notes from the Underground. Art and Alternative Music in Eastern Europe 1968-1994 at Muzeum Sztuki, Łódź (2016). He has been the recipient of research grants from the British Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and the British Academy.

Joanna Mytkowska is a curator and art critic and has been the director of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw since 2007. She was co-founder of the Foksal Gallery Foundation, where she worked from 2001 until 2007. In 2005, she curated the Polish Pavilion at the 51st Venice Biennale, exhibiting Repetition by Artur Żmijewski. Additional projects include Edward Krasiński (1997) and Henryk Stażewski. Economy of Thought and Perception (2006).

Liene Harms is a Berlin-based researcher in the field of contemporary art operating in the socio-political realm. She has studied at Leuphana University Lüneburg, Goldsmiths (University of London) and holds a Research Master’s degree from the University of Amsterdam. Her research focuses on Polish neo-avant-garde art of the 1970s, with special emphasis on the sociology of art and institutional critique.